Tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway are one step closer to reality after City Hall issued a request for proposals (RFP) late last Friday which asks for advice on how to impose charges on drivers who use the highways.

The 54-page RFP calls for a “study” on what type of toll technology is “best suited” for Toronto, where the toll booths or facilities would be located, what would be charged and how it would be charged, as well as how the tolls would be enforced.

The RFP also expects the successful bidder to outline what options should be used for commuters to pay the tolls and to determine who should pay (Toronto residents vs. those living in other parts of the GTA), including how to treat tourists to the city.

The proposal call indicates tolls would be applied to the entire DVP (from Hwy. 401 to the Gardiner) and the length of the Gardiner (from just east of Hwy. 427 to Leslie St.).

The RFP makes it clear that at least $2.5 billion is needed to rehabilitate the Gardiner between Cherry St. and the DVP — work slated to be done between 2018 and 2023 using a public-private partnership model — and that the two highways need ongoing investment “to maintain them in a state of repair.”

“Tolling would provide a revenue source for funding ongoing capital and operating costs for these facilities and/or general revenue for the city for other transportation alternatives,” the document says.

At last September’s meeting of Mayor John Tory’s executive committee, councillors opted to refer a city report on tolling options for the Gardiner and the DVP to the general manager of transportation services, Stephen Buckley, for a “more detailed study” and consultation with stakeholders.

That report pegs the cost to maintain the Gardiner, DVP and a potential toll system over 30 years at about $5.7 billion ($1.7 billion alone for the toll system).

The report suggests to fund those costs over 30 years, light vehicles would need to pay $1.25 in tolls per entry on those two highways under a flat fee (what’s called an open tolling system) and 10 cents per kilometre under a distance-based fee (or closed system). Heavy vehicles (including buses/trucks) would pay a $2.50 flat fee or 20 cents per kilometre.

According to the city report from last September, those tolls would need to jump to $3.25 per use of the two expressways by a light vehicle or 35 cents per kilometre if the city wanted to recoup the $5.7 billion in capital costs over 10 years. A heavy vehicle/truck would be charged a flat fee of $6.50 per use of the two highways or 70 cents per kilometre.

The successful proponent has also been asked to evaluate the “impact on those routes adjacent to the two expressways” should traffic divert as a result of the tolling scheme and the impact on adjacent municipalities most affected by the tolls.

If tolls are indeed applied to the two highways, it would go against Tory’s position last September that forcing Toronto residents to pay tolls to drive on roads already covered through their taxes is “not the fairest approach.”

Keerthana Kamalavasan, spokesman for Tory, said late Monday the RFP “is in line with the direction from executive committee” from last September.

• Estimate to rehabilitate both and put in place a tolling system over 30 years: $5.7 billion.

• Tolling approach includes an open system (all vehicles charged a flat rate when they pass a toll point) or closed system (vehicles charged based on distance travelled between point of entry and exit).

• Estimated cost (in 2015 dollars) to put in place an open system: $27.5 million.

City issues request for proposals for Gardiner, DVP tolls

Tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway are one step closer to reality after City Hall issued a request for proposals (RFP) late last Friday which asks for advice on how to impose charges on drivers who use the highways.

The 54-page RFP calls for a “study” on what type of toll technology is “best suited” for Toronto, where the toll booths or facilities would be located, what would be charged and how it would be charged, as well as how the tolls would be enforced.

The RFP also expects the successful bidder to outline what options should be used for commuters to pay the tolls and to determine who should pay (Toronto residents vs. those living in other parts of the GTA), including how to treat tourists to the city.

The proposal call indicates tolls would be applied to the entire DVP (from Hwy. 401 to the Gardiner) and the length of the Gardiner (from just east of Hwy. 427 to Leslie St.).